Evaluation of the state and causes of ineffective leadership in Africa

Abstract

Even though Africa is the richest continent in terms of natural resources, it is arguably the poorest in terms of development. The protracted economic challenges experienced around the continent have sometimes led to social unrest which has unfortunately given birth to migration with sometimes unintended consequences such as xenophobic attacks and people drowning while trying to reach Europe. For some time now scholars and policymakers have been trying to unravel the quagmire of Africa’s problems without palpable success. With over sixty years since the first African country gained independence, effective and sound leadership continues to be evasive around the continent with a few notable exceptions. The study sought to find out who was responsible for the dearth of leadership prevalent on the continent. A secondary (desk) research was conducted focusing on all the 54 countries on the continent. The study found that although the continent should shoulder much of the blame for poor leadership, colonialism, post-colonial exploitation, and white monopoly capital cannot be absolved. Africa requires leaders who are not afraid to speak their minds and take bold, difficult, and unpopular decisions. The continent should shed the unfortunate tag of being a net importer of leadership theory and practice by developing African leadership based on the principles of ubuntu.